Thin Line of Love and Hate
by YamiWestley
Summary: One-Shot. Mai is about to sent the Shadow Realm. Joey finally tells Mai how he feels about her. Almost like show with a twist. PG for gore.


"Mai!" Everything was happening so quickly. The light of the Winged Dragon of Ra lit the shadowy sky like a bell of death. Across from one another, two blond haired duelists were facing off for the privilege of going onto the next round of dueling. Or more importantly, still is a living human being after this duel.  
  
Because when this is all over, one duelist will be lost in the realm of darkness forever.  
  
Chains shackled the feminine duelist to the one side of the arena. Her head was full of confusion and lies. As her hand reached towards defeat, so did her mind closer to grasp of the evil across on the other side. Her purple eyes were glazed staring straight into the face of agony and defeat. It was just a short time ago where she wandered around the world searching for a new world of competition and rivalry. It had been a lonely life, but a fun one. What went wrong? Why was she lying on the boundary of the living and dead?  
  
"Mai!" Yet there was a beautiful voice calling in the distance. It was an unknown savior that she longed to hold, know, and hear. Why was he so close but yet so far away? There were many confusing questions with such vague answers. Why was it so familiar?  
  
"Mai, don't you remember me?" It was that voice again. Why did it insist to communicate with her?  
  
"Please...Mai..." She could feel his hand lightly fingering her skin. A warm feeling that she longed to feel.  
  
"Can you hear me, Mai? I'm here for you, as I always will be." The gentle whisper tickled. It was her final comfort as the other duelist's final assault was let loose.  
  
Words were spoken, but there was no sound. Only the roar of the final slash could be heard from afar. The duelist felt her life reopen in the light. Her breast was close to his, and they were together. As long as they had that, the world would never be able to harm them. They were together. The darkness didn't see so dark. Light rejoiced in the silence of the their embrace, and there was love again.  
  
The rabid lavender eyes the lingered across the arena spoke for themselves. Though the world was full of song, death could still be sensed. Life may be alive again, but with the stroke of the sword of death, it would be just as dead as ever. 'You will never get away from me, my dear. Your boyfriend may have come to your rescue, but soon he will be just a shadow of your formal life.'  
  
"Joey..."  
  
"Mai..."  
  
Their happiness angered the eyes. They would soon find that they would be forever separated, no matter how close they may seem. He would be sure of that.  
  
As the light jubilated, the final attack commenced. The couple hugged each other tight as they felt their lives slip as quickly as final words were spoken.  
  
"No!" The world slowed for a few seconds. The body of a boy with tri- colored hair caught the blow.  
  
"Yugi!" They watched as the body of their friend fell at the knees of the god. Even his great skill could not master the power of divinity. But as his body did fall, so did their hope. Soon the world would be just as dark as before, and love would be lost under the hand of darkness.  
  
The silence spoke for itself. The holograms that held the fate of the souls slowly faded. She fell into his embrace, speaking meaningless words of love. It was all over, but this ending was far from a happy one. They would soon loose each other.  
  
"Mai, I will protect you," he held her heart close to his, "I will not let him claim you. I love you." She cried in his embrace, each tear a memory of the past. The lavender moved closer to them, outlining their image. 'You will never escape me, dear. You will never see him again. Remember this embrace, because you will never feel his touch again.'  
  
Feel the night. Sense his touch. Remember the past. Love his kiss. These were all now a part of her new philosophy.  
  
But before she could kiss him goodnight, something odd happened. A new figure stepped forth; a boy who appeared in the body of a man. His cold eyes glanced down at the couple, but especially at the boy. His eyes spoke for his voice; glaring with madness but majestic in their cold sort of way.  
  
"I cannot allow you to send her to the so-called Shadow Realm. I may be a man of business, but I do have a sense of what is right and wrong. This, in my book, is wrong. She may be a third-rate duelist, but that doesn't mean that you may fill her mind the poisonous lies. I will not allow this insanity to continue." His eyes turned to the couple, "Go. Leave with one another before I change my mind." They stood up, still holding hands. Their eyes filled with shock, they walked away from the fight without a trophy or a trip to hell. They were safe.  
  
He turned to the cold man, "Thank you Kaiba."  
  
"I do have a limit to how much a hate you, Wheeler." He walked out of the arena, still hoping her hand.  
  
-  
  
"How could you just let them leave like that? You are a fool, Seto Kaiba, and now you will pay for your interference." The lavender-eyed duelist pulled out his glistening golden rod. He pointed the opposite knife-like end of it towards the man before him.  
  
"If you plan to kill me, go right ahead. I'm not afraid of your empty threats." The lavender eyes inched closer to the other man. They lined up face to face. It was blue eyes verses purple. The dagger end of the rod was held right up to the blue-eyed man's heart.  
  
"Now die." The dagger end shot straight through his heart. Blood poured from the small opening the lavender eyes had made. The other man knelt down, drowning in a pool of his own blood. Memories of his past lost before his eyes.  
  
_I saved your butt, Wheeler, but you will be happier then me. In truth, I didn't hate you nor liked you. As I die, think of me. My death will render up a new beginning._ His hand covered the indent the rod had made. The bloody hand yanked out the golden knife, his last ditch effort as he fell down dying.  
  
"Ni-sama." Another presence was sensed. A younger one, a small boy, huddled over his lost brother, "why did you save Joey and Mai? Why did you let them live in happiness while you paid the dues? Why, ni-sama, why?"  
  
"There's so much that you and I must learn about life. I don't know; I never play the hero. Mokuba, I'm sorry that I let you watch me die." His snow-white hand felt his little brother. Everything spun in circles; but life never made more sense. Still, why did he save his worst enemy and his girlfriend was still unknown to him. Why had he been their sacrifice? Was he just as foolish as the young child he was back then? No. He had learned something from the dog and master: saving your own tail is not always the best thing.  
  
The sweet sent of death had now taken complete control of his now. The small rain of blood filled his cold face.  
  
"Rain...makes the flowers grow." His last breath died along with his body. Seto Kaiba lie still, sleeping at last.  
  
-  
  
The boy with the tri-colored hair awoke. He turned to the field where his two friends had been holding one another. They were gone, but there was someone else that toke their place. A body was lying there, cold and stiff where they once stood.  
  
"What happened?" As his vision refocused, he recognized the empty shell. It was non other then his forever rival, Seto Kaiba. What was he doing? Was...was he dead?  
  
A familiar voice, a girl with deep brown hair sat next to him, "It was Kaiba. I don't know what got into him. He saved Joey and Mai from Marik, but ended up losing his own life in the process. It all happened so quickly."  
  
"Why...why would he save someone he hates?" A small voice in the back of the boy's head responded.  
  
Another voice replied, a stronger deeper one, "There isn't a fine line between love and hate."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Life doesn't make sense, Yugi. We must go on."  
  
The lavender eyes laughed in the darkness of the arena. _Soon those fools will see just how naive they truly are. One death down; many more to go._ The laughter died, but tears ensued. But there is still light even in the darkest of hours. As Yami Yugi said, "We must go on." And so shall it be. Let the death of Seto Kaiba remind us that we must stand for what is right. And may rain make the flowers grow. 


End file.
